Mail scale



July 3, 1956 G. A. THORSON 2,753,174

MAIL. SCALE Filed Feb. 25, 1952 INVENTOR.

GEORGE 0. 7710250 ATTORNEY United States Patent MAIL SCALE George A.Thorson, El Paso, Tex.

Application February 23, 1952, Serial No. 73,092

3 Claims. (Cl. 265-49) My invention relates in general to mail scales.It relates more in particular to a simple letter scale forming a part ofor adapted to form a part of a conventional writing instrument.

Many instances arise in which a person mailing a letter is unable totell whether one, two, or more stamps will be required. Illustrative ofthe situation is a traveling business man who wishes to air-mail aletter to his office in the evening for delivery the next day. Usuallyhe finds that the post ofiices have closed and that there is no way inwhich he can tell whether he should use one or more air-mail stamps.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of a simple mailor letter scale which may readily be carried among ones personal effectsin traveling;

Another object is the provision of such a scale incorporated as part ofa writing instrument so that it may be carried on ones person;

Still another object is the provision of a scale of the characterdescribed which may be produced at such a low cost that it may be givenaway as a favor, advertising novelty, or the like;

Other objects and features of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a pencil incorporating myinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary partial section;

Fig. 3 is a further enlarged end view;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view showing a modification;

Fig. 5 is an end view thereof; and

Fig. 6 shows the modification of Fig. 4 applied to a pencil, the viewbeing partly broken away to illustrate the relationship of the parts.

According to the general principles of my invention, the scale of myinvention comprises a shaft with a fulcrum near one end thereof and agroove or slot radially opposite to the fulcrum and spacedlongitudinally therefrom, so that an envelope held with its edge in thegroove will not raise the tip of the shaft when the device is restingwith its fulcrum on a flat surface, unless the envelope and contentsWeigh more than a predetermined amount, for example, one ounce.

Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, show the invention as incorporated into astandard type of automatic lead pencil which may be carried in thepocket or handbag and normally used as an ordinary pencil. A shown thedevice comprises a barrel 10 with tip 11 and lead 12 mechanically fedthrough the tip in any usual manner. A tubular body 13 similar to theusual retainer for an eraser 14 has a projection 16 shaped to rest on atable top or other flat surface to form a fulcrum about which the pencilmay rock in a weighing operation. Spaced radially opposite to theprojection 16, so as to be at the top of the pencil when it rests on theprojection 16, are a pair of transverse longitudinally-spaced grooves 17and 18. These grooves are of sufficient width to receive the edge of anenvelope and accurately determine the point of application of the weightthereof when the envelope is rested against the hand in an uprightposition.

For convenience of illustration, I show the tubular body as relativelythick walled, but it may be formed of metal or plastic as determined bythe design of the pencil of which it forms an integral part. The groovesare so positioned that groove 17 will support a load up to, for example,one ounce without raising the tip of the pencil; while the groove 18 isdesigned to support, for example, up to two ounces. When one has aletter to mail which may take, one, two, or three stamps, he can readilydetermine what is needed while in his hotel room, or wherever he may be.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 to 6 only a cylindricalbody 21 is provided, suitably molded of plastic, but adapted to beformed of any proper material. The cylindrical body has a longitudinalslot 22 to give it some slight spring action around a suitable shaft towhich it may be attached, such as a pencil or pen 23. Projections 24 onopposite sides of the slot act as a fulcrum, and two transverse grooves26 and 27 are provided as in the first described embodiment. The deviceof Fig. 4 may be made to fit a particular known pen or pencil so thatwhen it is fully applied in position as in Fig. 6, the weightdistribution will be such as to produce the same functions as describedin connection with Fig. 1. It may, however, be made to fit any pencil orsimilar shaft or stem device in which case its proper position may beobtained by testing with weight of known value, such as envelopesweighing one and two ounces respectively. In general, however, it ispreferred that the structure and dimensions of the tubular body andpencil or the like be planned in advance, so that the device will beadapted for use with only a minimum of preparatory work.

I have described my invention in detail so that those skilled in the artmay practice the same, but the scope of the invention is defined in theclaims.

I claim:

1. A scale device of the character described, comprising a generallytubular body longitudinally split to engage frictionally about the endof a shaft such as of a writing instrument, projections on oppositesides of said split forming a fulcrum, and means forming a transversegroove radially opposite to said split, said groove being longitudinallyspaced from said projections.

2. A single piece, generally tubular body adapted for application to anend of a writing instrument, said body being of much shorter length thanthe writing instrument, said tubular body having an integral projectionadapted to engage a fiat surface to form a fulcrum and having a groovepositioned radially opposite to said projection and being longitudinallyspaced therefrom whereby a letter of sufiicient weight positioned insaid groove will cause tilting of the body about said fulcrum when saidbody is applied to a writing instrument.

3. A device as recited in claim 2, said tubular body beinglongitudinally split whereby said device may frictionally engage the endof the writing instrument.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 93,720Kepner Aug. 17, 1869 187,936 Thompson Feb. 27, 1877 549,534 Riess Nov.12, 1895 593,927 Dodge Nov. 16, 1897 1,080,771 Meyer Dec. 9, 19131,318,595 Richie Oct. 14, 1919 2,157,807 Westermann May 9, 19392,335,693 Osterberg Nov. 30, 1943 2,586,443 Skelley Feb. 19, 1952FOREIGN PATENTS 21,480 Great Britain Nov. 12, 1895 504,103 Germany Dec.22, 1928

